A Neat and Clean House vs Children

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-17-2007
A Neat and Clean House vs Children
2597
Tue, 07-27-2010 - 8:35am

For those of you who like a neat and clean house, how do you keep it that way with children?

I find that if I am tied to goal of having a neat and clean house, I become a raging shrew against my children as they proceed to undo all the neatness I have worked so hard to attain. If I made a "neat and clean house" my goal, my children would not have their messy projects that take days/weeks to complete. My children would not pick up a book (casually left out)as they walk through the family room and browse through- discovering once again the mother actually knows about a few good books. I would let them watch more tv/computer time, as they don't make things as messy when they do. I would squash their ideas if I thought it would make too much of a mess. I wouldn't let them cook/experiment in the kitchen- as it is usually more work for me to clean up after they have "cleaned up". So, how do you inspire creativity and imagination in a neat and clean house? Are you on top of them to put things away as soon as they are done even if it is temporary? Where do you put the legos?....... Have you ever allowed them to take over the living room with all of their toys arranged in a city complex (thomas the train things were the Metro, legos and blocks were the buildings....)? How long would it stay up? Would let it be up for the summer so they could add to and change tings around as they got new ideas? Or allowed them to take over half of the family room for a month+ while they build and live in a beaver lodge (using all the empty shoe and other boxes and some that weren't empty)? Even if you have to walk around it everyday to get to the kitchen? Or do you require that all toys be put away everyday?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-10-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 12:49pm

If I put a roasted chicken, potatoes, and glazed carrots on the table, and dh turned me

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-10-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 12:51pm

Stews and soups, yep.

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-10-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 12:52pm
special needs would be, of course, an exception.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-09-2010
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 12:58pm

peanut & tree nut allergy for one child....the other child will not touch peanut butter products (doesn't like the taste although has no allergy) and the teenager couldn't do a meal (even on lunch) just on a pb sandwich


Polkadots&FlipFlops

Polkadotandflipflops

 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-10-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 1:01pm

yes, you've mentioned the allergies several times now.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-09-2010
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 1:01pm
Yes. I have menus at least 2 weeks often up to a month in advance so I'm well aware of the meals and I plan accordingly. It is really simple and practically effortless for me to take care of their meals myself rather than insisting they do it on their own, no way.

Polkadots&FlipFlops

Polkadotandflipflops

 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-24-2008
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 1:04pm
I have better things to do with my time.



Once again though, I doubt polkadot said or implied anyone else had to do it her way. She said how she does it, a few jumped on that, and suddenly others are defending their right to NOT do it her way.



I also don't want my children to feel catered to. I don't want them to think that in the real world, they'll always get exactly what they want for dinner.



I want my children to feel catered to some of the time. I am CERTAIN they will not lead them to believe everyone out in the real world will cater to them the way their own mother does at home. My ODD goes to her friends for dinner, we go to visit relatives, she knows she doesn't always get exactly what she wants for dinner. She doesn't always get exactly what she wants for dinner now, she just gets something she will eat most of the time.

Say not, 'I have found the truth,' but rather, 'I have found a truth.' -Kahlil Gibran



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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-09-2010
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 1:06pm

We call them kettles here but the sides are way too high in comparison to the skillet to brown hamburger easily in all of my years of cooking. That to me would be monotonous.


The bonus to the slow cooker is it allows the chilli for me to simmer longer and I can make it ahead and go do something else then return to the kitchen to finish up dinner (hot dogs, cut up fruit, make the sweet tea, bake the dessert).


Polkadots&FlipFlops

Polkadotandflipflops

 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 1:09pm
i cook my mexican pot-roast recipe for 10 hours in the crockpot. No mush at all.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-24-2008
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 1:09pm
The end result is that everyone gets enough to eat and I cook ONE meal.



You cook many items all at once, right? Sounds like what polkadot described doing.

Say not, 'I have found the truth,' but rather, 'I have found a truth.' -Kahlil Gibran



Photobucket

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Ten Rules for Being Human


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"The key to good decision making is not knowledge. It is understanding."
Malcolm Gladwell Blink

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